Red
by AntaresTheEighthPleiade
Summary: Five things Alex Danvers knew about her boss (and one thing she never would have guessed). Written in response to 1X07.


DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything DC. Nada. Zilch. All I have is my twisted imagination.

MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD for Episode 1X07. Like, seriously, planet-sized spoilers.

Written before the debut of 1X08.

i.

Lonely

He's surrounded by people, but he's completely alone.

Alex is watching her new boss keenly, learning his tics and foibles and self, and this is the first thing she sees. There's a distance between him and the others, a holding-back unrelated to his position as Director. It reminds her a bit of Kara, new and grieving, freshly arrived on Earth.

(In later years, Alex will look back on that initial assessment and shake her head at how right she was without even realizing it.)

For now, though, she simply notes it and wonders why.

ii.

Competent

There's a breakout. Alex has been warned that these things happen, that though the DEO has made incredible technological strides these past few years their inventions still have bugs and glitches, but this is her first breakout and she can't help the spike of fear stabbing through her chest. She has trained for this—the bruises all across her body twinge in testimony—and she is armed, her gun a comforting weight on her thigh, but she is still afraid.

But when she asks for orders, her voice doesn't tremble a bit. She's proud of that.

Henshaw is barking orders, sending this agent here and that agent there. His tone brooks no argument, and his face betrays no worry at all.

Then something goes wrong. An electronic trap doesn't work like it's supposed to, and the alien tears through the hall.

Alex hefts her gun. She aims, prepares to fire.

Then Henshaw is there, fast as thought, jabbing his fist into the escapee's solar plexus. The creature gasps and crumples, the wind knocked from it. In a single fluid motion, Henshaw draws a tranquilizer gun and squeezes the trigger. The alien collapses entirely.

Only later, when he's ascertained that nobody was hurt during the incident, does Hank allow himself to smile.

iii.

Fire

Hank is rigid, sweat gleaming on his dark skin. His eyes are wide and bright. In the light of the leaping flames before him, they look almost red.

"You alright?" Alex asks, worried.

Her boss snaps out of it. Grimacing, the muscles in his jaw clenching, he turns away from the inferno. "What happened to the sprinkler system?"

"Looks like the runner got it."

"Then we need to stop the fire ourselves," he says, looking and sounding and probably feeling like he'd rather be literally anywhere else. "Come on."

Later, when the fire is quenched and the convict captured, Alex stands outside Hank's office door. Should she go in? This is hardly a professional matter. But she really is worried for him, so she sets her shoulders and knocks.

Hank's voice calls for her to come in, so she does, shutting the door behind her (she does not think Hank wants this public) and lingering awkwardly just beyond the threshold. He's sitting at his desk, surrounded by paperwork and blinking computer screens, eyebrow arched in question. "Can I help you, Agent Danvers?"

"I just wanted to make sure you're all right."

His face softens slightly. "I'm fine," he sighed. "Just not the biggest fan of fire, that's all."

"You're sure?" Because that sort of behavior wasn't like him. Hank just didn't _do_ fear.

"Just keep it to yourself, okay?" he says.

Alex inclines her head. "Okay, sir."

iv.

Oreos

It's her first December in the DEO, and Alex is surprised to learn that they do office parties, complete with white elephant gifts. It seems so odd to her that this super-secret alien-fighting I'd-tell-you-more-but-then-I'd-have-to-kill-you government agency even acknowledges the holidays, much less hosts a celebration. Honestly, it's the sort of thing she needs to see to believe, so she wraps up a hideous Christmas sweater and makes her way to the hotel lobby they've rented for the evening.

The party is surprisingly normal, just people wandering around with mugs of cider and eggnog enjoying themselves. Sure, some of the stories they're telling are pretty weird—it's an inevitable side effect of working so closely with aliens—but it's ordinary and even fun.

They start giving the gifts away. They've each taken a random present from under the tree, and now they take turns opening it. Alex gets a framed picture of a cat. Her hideous sweater goes to Donovan. Hank receives a huge package of Double-Stuf Oreos, which he unwraps with a huge grin.

"Think he'll share?" another newbie asks.

The coworker he'd asked laughs until he cries.

v.

Protect

Alex runs in an easy, loping gait and tries not to think about her boss—her friend—risking his life to disarm the bomb. In her head, she understands that it's best for her to leave. She would just get in the way, spoil his concentration, make more danger for both of them.

Her heart calls her a coward.

This isn't the first time he's done this, sent her or another agent away to take on the most dangerous task for himself.

(And that is why, several days later, she has such a hard time believing that Hank Henshaw essentially blackmailed her father into joining the DEO. It doesn't really sink in until after she's spoken with Winn and nausea curdles her stomach.)

He's always succeeded so far, but one day he's going to fail and Alex is deeply afraid that today is that day.

It's not. Hank stops the bomb at the airport and Kara gets the one on the train, and the day is saved again.

vi.

Name

Her boss is a Martian.

A seven-foot-tall, black-armored, green-skinned Martian. With glowing red eyes.

…Huh.

That's…. That's a lot to take in.

Alex is in shock. Working in the DEO had exposed her to lots of weird situations, as had sharing a bathroom with a superpowered extraterrestrial, but this… this takes the cake.

Hank—no, J'onn, his name is J'onn, J'onn J'onzz—is still standing there, arms slightly outspread, his face blank but his eyes full of trepidation. Alex realizes that he's waiting for a response, wonders how long she's just stood there gawking like a rookie. She should say something, she decides. She really needs to say something.

So what the _hell_ do you say when your boss tells you he's actually a shape-shifting alien? She has no idea whatsoever. She just doesn't know.

And then she does, because there's something like hope fading from his vermillion eyes as the silence stretches on, and everything is suddenly clear.

Alex lifts her hand.

It hangs unwavering between them, fingers outstretched, thumb facing up, her arm angled upwards because he's that much taller than her. "J'onn J'onzz," she says slowly, rolling the word over her tongue.

He tilts his head ever so slightly, his expression cautious, and reaches out towards her. His hand is covered, the gauntlet cool and hard. It's so much bigger than hers, enough to swallow up her fingers and her palm, but the grip is gentle as he takes her hand and shakes it.

Alex smiles slightly. "J'onn J'onzz," she repeats. "I'm glad to meet you."

* * *

A note on timelines: "Livewire" was originally supposed to be episode 1X05, but they switched it with "How Does She Do It?" which was supposed to be episode 1X04. I've kept the original chronology here because it makes more sense, so the incident with the bombs took place before Alex learned about her dad's real career.

-Antares


End file.
